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Friday, October 19, 2012

Review: I Kissed a Zombie & Liked It

Summary (from Goodreads): Algonquin “Ali” Rhodes, the high school newspaper’s music critic, meets an intriguing singer, Doug, while reviewing a gig. He’s a weird-looking guy—goth, but he seems sincere about it, like maybe he was into it back before it was cool. She introduces herself after the set, asking if he lives in Cornersville, and he replies, in his slow, quiet murmur, “Well, I don’t really live there, exactly. . . .”

When Ali and Doug start dating, Ali is falling so hard she doesn’t notice a few odd signs: he never changes clothes, his head is a funny shape, and he says practically nothing out loud. Finally Marie, the school paper’s fashion editor, points out the obvious: Doug isn’t just a really sincere goth. He’s a zombie. Horrified that her feelings could have allowed her to overlook such a flaw, Ali breaks up with Doug, but learns that zombies are awfully hard to get rid of—at the same time she learns that vampires, a group as tightly-knit as the mafia, don’t think much of music critics who make fun of vampires in reviews...

Review: No. Just no. For the life of me I could not relate to Alley. In a world where being goth and “post-human” is normal, Alley and her friends make it a point to not hang with the in-crowd. She’s a self-admitted bitch and her friends aren’t that much better. It’s kind of like that moment in the movie, The Heathers, when you realize Christian Slater’s character isn’t really any better than the Heathers or jocks; Worse, in fact. (Side note: if you haven’t seen that movie you must). The silver lining of the book was the good-natured, zombified love interest -- Doug. Doug opens the reader’s eyes so much more with his patience, his understanding, and gentle, resigned nature.

Choppy, at best, I Kissed a Zombie fails to find empathy or excitement.